Phil Collins, 75, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist on Saturday night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony marked his second induction, following his entry with Genesis in 2010.
Collins attended the event with the aid of his canes, accompanied by three of his children: his daughter Lily Collins, best known for her role in Netflix's Emily in Paris; his adopted daughter Joely; and his son Nicholas, known as Nic. Lily, 37, is Phil's daughter from his second marriage to Jill Tavelman, while Joely was adopted during his first marriage to Andrea Bertorelli, and Nic was welcomed during his third marriage to Orianne Cevey.
He also shares a son named Simon with his first wife and another son named Matthew with his third wife.
Tearful Acceptance Speech
Collins, whose mobility issues and health problems have kept him from performing since 2022, gave a tearful acceptance speech during the ceremony. He credited his assistant for saving his life, after she told him what changes he needed to make.
"I'm not joking when I say without her I wouldn't be here. I'd be in a box six feet under," he said on stage.
He went on to thank his manager Tony Smith, Atlantic Records' Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, and Virgin Records founder Richard Branson, crediting them for taking him "under their wing" and seeing "something that was worth nurturing."
He also thanked his three ex-wives, "because they've loved me through the years and given me five great children."
Concluding his speech, Collins praised Eric Clapton and Robert Plant, two of the musicians he has performed with. "These guys were heroes to me," he stated.
Health Struggles Revealed
Collins recently revealed that his children rushed to be by his side as they thought he was going to die. This came after the drummer almost drank himself to death and ended up on life support in a Swiss hospital in 2024.
He opened up about the ordeal on Piers Morgan Uncensored, with the presenter asking him: "You had a lot of physical issues, but the drinking issue became something that nearly killed you. Do you feel lucky just to be alive?"
Collins admitted: "Yeah. I do. It was not looking good at one point. I was on a dialysis machine, things were just breaking down. The decision was whether I should be kept on a dialysis machine."
The songwriter revealed that his manager called his children to prepare them for the worst. "My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up. People were coming to say goodbye," Collins said. "But I don't remember them coming, I didn't have no idea this was going on. They were all worried that they wouldn't see me again. It could all have gone so terribly wrong."
